Arena do Grêmio

Arena do Grêmio

Location	Porto Alegre, Brazil
Coordinates
Owner	OAS
Operator	Arena Porto-Alegrense
Executive suites	135
Capacity	55,225
Field size	105 x 68 m
Surface	Lolium perenne Desso GrassMaster
Construction
Broke ground	September 20, 2010
Opened	December 8, 2012
Construction cost	€ 205 million
Architect	PLARQ Arquitetura
General contractor	OAS
Tenants
Grêmio F.B.P.A. (2013-Present) Brazil national team (selected matches)
Website
Official website

Arena do Grêmio is a multi-use stadium in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. It was inaugurated on December 8, 2012.

It is used mostly for football matches and as the home stadium of Grêmio, replacing the Estádio Olímpico Monumental. With 55,225 capacity, the stadium is one of the most modern venues in South America.

Concept

A mile from the international airport of Porto Alegre and alongside the road way, the stadium site appeared perfect to create a multifunctional urban center. The complex include a Conference and Congress Center, hotel, a mall, housing, condominiums and parking. The arena itself intends to be functional year round.

A concept that starts from green field to the milestone of creating economical revenue to the club, the stadium development and building costs are paid through this concept goals plus future real estate business. The architectural firm PLARQ is responsible for the stadium projects design and concept and OAS is the general contractor.

History

In the mid-2000s, an idea came within the Grêmio, to build a new stadium to host matches of the Tricolor. The idea was carried out in 2006 with the beginning of the work viability studies. The objective was to make a self-sustaining stadium, unlike the Estádio Olímpico Monumental, that was already falling apart. In May 2006, the Grêmio's master patrimonial plan was formulated, which, precisely, headed the project. From there began a discussion about the construction place, in the current location of Olímpico or in a new place. In November 2006, aiming to dispel this doubt, was made a pre-feasibility study for the construction of a new stadium, with the Dutch company Amsterdam Advisory Arena. The conclusion was that the Estádio Olímpico would not meet the expectations of the club, due to high maintenance cost, age of construction, low standard of comfort, security and services, insufficient parking and location in very populated region. This combination of factors led the club to opt for building an Arena, with the financial assistance of partners, with the standard required by FIFA.

Beginning of construction

In October 2009, fences were installed to surround the region. On May 13, 2010, a flagpole with the Grêmio's flag was inaugurated on the ground.

The official launch of the works took place on September 20, 2010, after a motorcade output from the Estádio Olímpico. On the same day, at the ceremony of start of construction, Hugo de León planted a patch of grass of Olímpico on the Arena ground after landing in a helicopter. Later, the former footballer represented symbolically the works to push the button on a machine and turn it on.

In late February 2011, about three hundred workers stopped their activities, protesting for better wages, working conditions and housing, days off to visit their families - as many workers were from the northeast of Brazil - and a longer rest. Requests were met quickly, and all worked back to full steam.

Important matches

Inauguration

Grêmio v Hamburg

8 December 2012	Grêmio	2–1	Hamburg	Porto Alegre, Brazil
22:00 UTC−2	André Lima  9' Marcelo Moreno  87'	Report	Westermann  71'	Stadium: Arena do Grêmio Attendance: 60,540 Referee: Carlos Amarilla (Paraguay)

2012 Match Against Poverty

Ronaldo's XI v Zidane's XI

19 December 2012	Ronaldo's XI	3–2	Zidane's XI	Porto Alegre, Brazil
21:00 UTC−2	Bebeto  36' Cacá Ferrari  79' Leandro Damião  87'	Report	Falcão  60' Zidane  65'	Stadium: Arena do Grêmio Attendance: 60,540 Referee: Pierluigi Collina (Italy)

First official match

Grêmio v LDU Quito

30 January 2013	Grêmio	1–0 (5–4 p)	LDU Quito	Porto Alegre, Brazil
22:00 UTC−2	Elano  62'	Report		Stadium: Arena do Grêmio Attendance: 41,461 Referee: Saúl Laverni (Argentina)
		Penalties
	André Lima Saimon Willian José Pará Vargas Alex Telles		Saritama Vitti Reasco Vélez Canuto Morante

International Friendly

Brazil v France

9 June 2013	Brazil	3–0	France	Porto Alegre, Brazil
16:00 UTC−3	Oscar  53' Hernanes  84' Lucas  90+2' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: Arena do Grêmio Attendance: 51,643 Referee: Víctor Hugo Carrillo (Peru)

City Derby

Grêmio v Internacional

9 August 2015	Grêmio	5–0	Internacional	Porto Alegre, Brazil
18:30 UTC−3	Giuliano  34' Luan  42'  48' Fernandinho  75' Réver (OG)  83'	Report		Stadium: Arena do Grêmio Attendance: 46.010 Referee: Dewson Fernando Freitas da Silva (FIFA)

Concerts

With the multi-use stadium concept, the Arena do Grêmio easily adapts to receive more different genres of shows and events. The first was to be held in April 2013, receiving a concert celebrating the 72 years old of singer Roberto Carlos, with a sold-out audience of 50,000. In June 2014, the Arena hosted the first show of the 2014 Green Valley World Tour, which was attended by the residents of the largest electronic music festival in the world and known as the "Maestros of Tomorrowland": Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, to an audience of over 14,000 fans.

Events at Arena do Grêmio

Date	Event	Artist(s)	Attendance
20 April 2013	2013 Roberto Carlos Tour	Roberto Carlos	50,000
18 June 2014	2014 Green Valley World Tour	Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, WolfPack, Thomaz Krause, Marcelo CIC, Rapha Costa	14,000
14 December 2014	Happy Holi	Alok, FTampa, Diego Miranda, LyoPak	12,000
02 May 2015	Save Festival - Super Club	Nicky Romero	7,000
11 November 2015	2015 Latin America Tour	Pearl Jam	29,667
16 December 2015	Rattle That Lock Tour	David Gilmour	37,674

External links

• Official website
• Stadium information
• Designs of stadium
• Stadium images at Worldofstadiums.com